After the Sahābah al-kirām, Imām al-Bukhārī ranks as the most eminent of those
pious people who have conferred endless bliss upon the Ummah of the Holy Prophet
sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam. The greatest evidence of this is the book of Ahādīth
an-Nabawī he compiled, commonly known as Sahīh al-Bukhārī. It is universally
acknowledged as the most authentic book after the Holy Qur'ān. So long as their is one
Muslim left on the Earth, the blessings of Imām Bukhārī will have a place in his or her
Īmān and Islām. Let us briefly examine below a short survey of his life and works.

His Early Years

Imām al-muhaddithīn Hadrat Imām Abū `Abdullāh Muhammad ibn Ismā`īl al-Bukhārī
was born on the 13th of the Islāmic month of Shawwāl, 194AH, in the famous city of
Bukhara, of the land "beyond the canal" - present day Uzbekistan -. The father
of Imām Bukhārī, Ismā`īl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Mughīrah al-Ja`fī, was a great muhaddith
and ascetic from whom he inherited his characteristics of literary zeal and excellence.
During infancy his father passed away and his mother took on the entire responsibility of
bringing him up. Imām Bukhārī became blind at a young age. He had recourse to many
famous and skilled doctors of his time but their treatments made no difference. His mother
was a pious worshipper and a righteous woman. She cried out for help in the court of
Allāh the Almighty, for her child and begged for the restoration of his eyesight. At
last, "the river of mercy flowed over her," and Almighty Allāh accepted her
invocation. One night, she visited Ibrāhīm `alayhis-salām in a dream and was told,
"Allāh has restored the sight of your son because of your intense and beautiful
invocations." In the morning, as Imām Bukhārī got up from his bed, glimmers of
light reached out into his eyes.

Primary Education and Interest in Hadīth

When Imām Bukhārī reached the age of ten and after acquiring his elementary
education, Almighty Allāh inserted the interest in the science of Ahadīth into his heart
and he obtained admission in the Hadīth class of Bukhara. He obtained his educations
after vigorous study. A year later, he had such a good retention of the text and chains of
transmission of Ahādīth, that sometimes teachers got their corrections from him. Imām
Bukhārī had been acquiring religious education with competance and swiftness and at the
tender age of sixteen, he had completely learnt by heart the books of `Abdullāh ibn
al-Mubārak, al-Wakī` and other learned companions of al-Imām Abū Hanīfa radiyallāhu
`anhum.

The Visit to the Haramayn and the Commencement of His Ahādīth
Compilation

At the age of eighteen, He visited Makkah accompanied by his mother and elder brother,
Ahmad ibn Ismā`īl. After performing the pilgrimage, his brother returned with the
company of his mother, but Imām Bukhārī stayed there for further education. Meanwhile,
he wrote a book called, Qadāyā as-Sahābah wat-Tābi`īn. After this he went to
Madīnah al-munawwarah to compile the famous book of Asmā` ar-rijāl (Names of men of
transmission) called, Tārīkh al-kabīr, while sitting by the tomb of the
Holy Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam during moonlight hours. Immediately after
completing this, a series of imitations had begun. Muhammad ibn Yūsaf al-Furyābī said
that at the time he had copied Tārīkh al-kabīr, Imām Bukhārī did not yet
have any facial hair.

Imām Bukhārī travelled to cities far and wide for the transmission of Ahādīth and
had gained immense knowledge while sitting far from his own country for several years. He
stated himself, "To seek knowledge, I travelled to Egypt and Syria twice, Basra four
times, spent six years at the Hijāz and left for Kufa and Baghdad on so many occasions
accompanied by Muhaddithīn."

His Remarkable Memory

Imām Bukhārī was a man with a very strong memory. When we look at his memory, it is
as if his body from head to toe stored it. Seeing his memory, the memory of Abū Hurayrah
radiyallāhu `anhu is rekindled in the hearts of Muslims. Hashid ibn Ismā`īl states that
in his childhood: "Imām Bukhārī used to go with us to the Scholars of Basra to
listen to Ahādīth. All of us used to write Ahādīth down, except Imām Bukhārī. After
sixteen days, we thought about it and we condemned Imām Bukhārī saying that, 'you had
wasted so many days work by not writing down Ahādīth.' Imām Bukhārī asked us to bring
our notes to him. So we all brought our notes, upon which Imām Bukhārī began to read
Ahādīth one by one from the top of his head until he narrated to us more than fifteen
thousand! Hearing these, it seemed that Imām Bukhārī was reteaching us all of the
Ahādīth we had noted."

Muhammad ibn Azhar Sajistānī says: "I used to go to Sulaymān ibn Harab
accompanied by Imām Bukhārī for listening to Ahādīth. I used to write the Ahādīth,
but Imām Bukhārī wouldn't. Somone said to me, 'Why doesn't Imām Bukhārī note the
Ahādīth down?' I told him, 'if you missed any Hādīth in writing, you could obtain it
from the memory of Imām Bukhārī.'"

Imām Bukhārī's memory could be understood by knowing that if he glanced through a
book, it would be committed to memory instantly. In his early period of acquiring
knowledge, he memorised seventy thousand Ahādīth and later in his life, this figure
reached three hundred thousand. Of these, one hundred thousand were sahīh (rigorously
authenticated) and two hundred thousand were not sahīh (hasan, da`īf, etc). Once he went
to Balkh and the inhabitants desired that he should recite one Hadīth from each of his
shaykhs. Then he orated from one thousand Shaykhs one thousand Ahādīth.

Sulaymān ibn Mujāhid says: "One day I was present in the company of Muhammad ibn
Salām Baykandī. Muhammad ibn Salām said, 'If you had come earlier, I would have shown
you the child who has seventy thousand Ahādīth in his memory.' Sulaymān stood up from
his company and started looking for Imām Bukhārī. Shortly he found him and asked, 'Are
you the one who has committed seventy thousand Ahādīth to memory?' Imām Bukhārī
replied, 'I have learnt more Ahādīth than this by heart. I even know the place of birth,
death and residence of most of those companions from whom the Ahādīth are
narrated."

His Extraordinary Intellect

Along with his extraordinary memory, he also had a very sharp intellect. He did not
depend on pen and paper as much as he relied on his mind and memory. People examined the
capabilities of Imām Bukhāri in the science of Hadīth repeatedly but he always remained
successful as a result of Allāh's gift of intellegence and superb memory.

Hāfiz Ahmad ibn `Adī describes: "When the people of Baghdad had learnt that
Imām Bukhārī was due to arrive there, the Muhaddithīn of Baghdad decided to test him
by changing the text and chains of transmission of one hundred Ahādīth. They joined the
chain of one Hadīth with the text of another and attached the chain of this Hadīth with
the text of the prior. Like this, they mixed up the text and chains of transmission of one
hundred Ahādīth and gave these to people who would test Imām Bukhārī with these.

"When Imām Bukhāri arrived at Baghdad, the people held a gathering in his
honour, in which most of the Ulamā, nobles and public were present. One person stood up
according to the plan and asked a question regarding a Hadīth with its altered chain of
transmission. Upon this, a second person stood up and recited in similar manner. Like
this, the people completed the hundred Ahādīth and awaited Imām Bukhārī's reply. He
said that he had not apprehended those Ahādīth. When he saw that everyone had finished
asking questions, he stood up and described the chain of transmission of the first Hadīth
read and then gave its correct chain. Like this, he detailed the faulty chains on the
Ahādīth of all one hundred set up by the scholars. He had given the correct chains of
transmission to every Hadīth. When he finished, the entire audience was full of praise
and recognition of the superiority and greatness of Imām Bukhārī."

Hāfiz Abul-Azhar relates: "Once four hundred Muhaddithīn had gathered in the
city of Samarqand to test Imām Bukhārī. They did this by mixing up the transmissions of
Syria with the transmissions of Iraq and the transmissions of Iraq with the transmissions
of Syria. Similarly, they inserted the transmissions of the Haram (Makkah) into the ones
of Yemen and vice versa. They did this to Imām Bukhāri for seven days, but could not
mislead him in text or transmission a single time. He had comprehensive knowledge in the
science of Hadīth - all of the routes of a Hadīth were in his eyes if one with many
chains was found. So Imām Bukhārī had a good view of all of them. In that age, no one
had more command over the different ways of transmission than Imām Bukhārī."

Yūsuf ibn Mūsā Marūzī states: "I was sitting in the central mosque of Basra
when I heard a voice saying, 'O seeker of knowledge, Imām Muhammad ibn Ismā`īl has
arrived. Whoever wants to receive Ahādīth from him should present himself in his
company.'" Marūzī says: "I saw a thin, weak young man near the pillar who was
praying salāt with extreme humbleness and humility and that was Imām Bukhārī. As soon
as the announcement was made, curious people from all directions began to gather
around."

Glimpses of his private life

1. Self sufficiency:

The father of Imām Bukhārī, Muhaddith Ismā`īl ibn Ibrāhīm was enormously rich
and Imām Bukhārī had inherited a huge share of his wealth. He used to give his wealth
on the basis of silent partnership (e.g. if a person is in possession of a shop, the
profits are shared equally, but only one partner does all the work). Abū Sa`īd Bakr ibn
Munīr states: "Once Abū Hafs sent some goods to Imām Bukhārī and when traders
learnt of this, they came and offered five thousand dirhams. He told them, 'Come in the
evening.' A second group of traders came and offered ten thousand dirhams, but he told
them, 'I have already made an agreement with someone else. Ido not want to change my
intention for the sake of ten thousand dirhams.'"

2. Simplicity and humbleness:

From the point of view of his character, Imām Bukhārī was a simple and hard working
person. He would fulfill his own needs by himself. Despite having a lot of wealth and
status, he always kept the minimum number of servants required and never indulged himself
in this matter. Muhammad ibn Hātim Warrāq, who was one of his main disciples, says:
"Imām Bukhārī was establishing an inn near the city of Bukhara and was placing the
bricks with his own hands. I came forward and said 'Leave the laying of the bricks for
this building to me.' But he replied, 'On the day of judgement, this act will be of
benefit to me.'"

Warrāq goes on to say: "When we accompanied Imām Bukhārī on a journey, he
would gather us in one room and would stay by himself in a separate room. Once I saw Imām
Bukhārī get up between fifteen and twenty times during the night and every time, he lit
the lamp with his own hands. He took some Ahādīth out, marked them and then placed his
head on his pillow and laid on his couch. I said to him, 'Why did you go through all this
trouble during the night, when you could have woken me up [so that I could help you].' He
replied, 'You are young and are in need of sound sleep and I did not want to disturb your
sleep.'"

3. Generosity

Just as he was generous with this wealth, he was also greatly generous with his heart.
Sometimes, he would give three thousand dirhams as a donation in one day. Warrāq says
that Imām Bukhārī's earnings were five hundred dirhams per month and he would spend all
of it on his students.

4. Abstention (Zuhd)

Imām Bukhārī kept himself away from all worldly desires and temptations. Sometimes,
in his quest for knowledge, he passed his time eating dried grass (hay). Usually he would
eat only two or three almonds in a whole day. Once he became ill and the doctors told him,
"Your intestines have become dry because you have been eating dried leaves." It
was at that moment that Imām Bukhārī told the doctor that he had been eating dried
leaves for forty years and during this span of time he never even touched any kind of
curry.

5. Fear of Allāh

He was bestowed with the highest rank of piety and righteousness. He feared Allāh very
much inwardly and outwardly. He prevented himself from backbiting and suspicion and always
respected the rights of others. Bakr ibn Munīr relates that Imām Bukhārī said, "I
am hopeful that when I meet my Lord, He will not take account of me because I never
backbited."

Imām Bukhārī was so vigilant in his worship, that he would pray Nawāfil and keep
fasts in abundance. He would complete the recitation of the whole Qur'ān daily in the
month of Ramadān and also recited ten chapters of the Holy Qur'ān deep in the night. He
would complete the Holy Qur'ān in the Tarāwīh prayers and always reciting twenty verses
in each rak`at. He was very courteous, tolerant and gentle. He never became angry if
mistreated by other persons and prayed forgiveness for those who attributed evil to him.
If he needed to correct any person, he would never embarrass him in public.

His Arrival in Nīshāpūr and the issue of the creation of the Qur'ān

In 250 AH, Imām Bukhārī decided to go to Nīshāpūr. After hearing this news, a
wave of happiness spread among its people. In those times, Muhammad ibn Yahya adh-Dhuhlī
was the head of the literary kingdom of Nīshāpūr. He advised and led the inhabitants of
the city to gather together for the welcoming of Imām Bukhārī. A huge crowd went to the
outskirts of the city to receive Imām Bukhārī, with extreme magnificence and honour.
Imām Muslim ibn Hajjāj says that in all his life, he had never seen such a reception
ever given to a scholar or even a ruler.

Imām Bukhārī began to deliver lectures on Hadīth in Nīshāpūr. At every session,
a huge crowd always packed the area to listen and many included people who had arrived
specifically to learn the science of Hadīth. However, some unpleasant people were envious
about the reputation and popularity of Imām Bukhārī. These people set up Muhammad ibn
Yahya adh-Dhuhlī to become his opponent. In this incident, Muhammad ibn Yahya considered
the pronunciation of the Qur'ān as eternal and was firmly rooted with this concept.

Once, a man approached Imām Bukhārī and asked him whether the Qur'ān
was created (makhlūq) or not created (ghayr makhlūq). Imām Bukhārī
paused for a while. The man insisted on a reply, upon which he was told, "The Qur'ān
are the words of Allāh and they are not created (ghayrmakhlūq)."
The man posed some more questions about the words of the Qur'ān, upon which Imām
Bukhārī said, "Our actions are created and the pronunciation is one our
actions."

[Comment
by G.F. Haddad: The above is inaccurately translated. It should read: "Muhammad
ibn
Yahya considered the *pronunciation* of the Qur'ān as eternal..." and "Imām
Bukhārī said, 'Our actions are created and the pronunciation is one our
actions.'"

The disagreement was only over
the pronunciation (lafz) of the Qur'an, not the words of the Qur'an, although
lafz also means "wording." Al-Dhuhli and other people close to the Hanbali
madhhab considered that the pronunciation is uncreated just like the Qur'an
itself. Others, like Bukhari and Muslim, also al-Karabisi the companion of al-Shafi`i
and others considered the pronunciation created since it is part of one's acts
and acts are certainly created. There was no disagreement that the words of the
Qur'an are not created since they are what is meant when we say that the Qur'an
is Allah's Speech.

What possibly reconciles
the different views on this subject is that lafz is used by some to mean the
revealed, uncreated words and contents of recitation, while others mean thereby
the mere act of pronunciation, which is created; hence the extreme caution shown
by some, such as Imam al-Bukhari, who fell short of saying: "Lafz is created"
even though he used it in the second sense, since he said: "Lafz is an act of
human beings, and our acts are created." This lexical ambiguity is a proof of
sorts that the differences on this particular question were largely in
terminology rather than essence. Added to this is a fundamental difference in
method around the appropriateness of such dialectic (kalam), which poisoned the
air with unnecessary condemnations on the part of Imam Ahmad's followers - and
Allah knows best.]

After this, mass propaganda started against Imām Bukhārī, which led
to accusations that he believed the words of the Qur'ān to be created. When Dhuhlī heard
these rumours, he disconnected his ties with Imām Bukhārī and became his foe. He
started warning people by announcing that they should not attend the lectures of Imām
Bukhārī. As a result, people refrained from sitting in his lectures, except Muslim ibn
Hajjāj. At last, due to his disappointment, Imām Bukhārī left the city of Nīshāpūr
and returned to Bukhara.1

Banishment from his homeland

When the people of Bukhara learnt that Imām Bukhārī was coming back to his homeland,
they became extremely overjoyed and erected tents many miles outside the city to welcome
him. They greeted him with splendour for his return. He established a school there where
he spent a great deal of time teaching with satisfaction.

Even here, there were envious people who did not leave him alone. They met the governor
of Bukhara, who was a representative of the Khilāfat `Abasiyya, Khālid ibn Ahmad. They
told him to call Imām Bukhārī to his house and busy him with teaching his son. When the
governor put this suggestion to Imām Bukhārī, he was told, "I do not want to abuse
knowledge and carry it to the footstep of the rulers. If anybody wants to learn, they
should come to my school." The governor replied, by stating, "If my son was to
attend your school, he should not sit with ordinary people. You would have to teach him
separately." Imām Bukhārī answered, "I cannot stop any person from hearing
Ahādīth." Upon hearing this, the governer of Bukhara became angry with him and got
a fatwa (verdict) from the time wasting opportunist (ibn al-waqt) `Ulamā against
Imām Bukhārī to banish him from the city.

Imām Bukhārī was distressed at the thought of being banished from his homeland. Not
even a month passed, before the Khalīf of Baghdad dismissed the governor of Bukhara,
Khālid ibn Ahmad adh-Dhuhlī. The governor was expelled from his palace in extreme
disgrace and dishonour, being mounted on a she-ass and then thrown into prison, where he
died in a space of a few days. Similarly, all the supporters of the governor also died in
disgraceful ways.

His passing

After returning from Bukhara, Imām Bukhārī decided to travel to Samarqand. He was
still many miles from the city, when he heard that the people there had two veiws about
him. So he decided to stay at a village along the way called "Kharteng". Here,
he made the following invocation one night after the late-night prayer: "O Allāh,
the Earth despite its grandeur is becoming narrow and is troubling me greatly. So take me
back to You." After this invocation, he became ill. Meanwhile, the people of
Samarqand sent a messenger to bring him there. Bukhārī got up and was ready to travel,
but his strength gave way. He began to invoke Allāh at length, then he took to his bed
and his soul passed away to his Lord - may Allāh have mercy on him. An indescribable
amount of perspiration came out of him even after he consigned his life to the Creator of
life. When this abated, he was shrouded. He died on the night of `Īd al-Fitr, the first
night of Shawwāl in the year 256 AH. He had reached the age of 62 years, less twelve
days. On this night, the sun of great knowledge, virtue and blessings had set, whose
knowledge and actions had enlightened the hearts and minds of the great intellects and
people of Samarqand, Bukhara, Baghdad and Nīshāpūr.

His acceptance by Allah's Messenger sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam

Imām Bukhārī devoted his entire life, in the search for the way of life given by the
Holy Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam, in acting upon his sayings and researching
into this science. His each and every action was a fragment of the way of the Messenger.
Warrāq stated: "In a dream, I once saw Imām Bukhārī walking behind the Prophet
sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam and his feet would fall exactly where the feet of the
blessed Prophet had fallen."

Farbarī stated: "Once in a dream, I met the Holy Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi wa
sallam and he asked me, 'Where are you going?' I replied, 'To Muhammad ibn Ismā`īl
[al-Bukhārī].' He then said, 'Go, and give him my salām.'"

Just as the Holy Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam had happiness with Imām
Bukhārī during his lifetime, he was also pleased with him after his death. Concerning
this, `Abd al-Wāhid ibn Ādam Awaysī stated: "I saw the Holy Prophet sallallāhu
`alayhi wa sallam in my sleep standing with a group of his Companions. I asked, 'O Prophet
sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam, who are you waiting for?' He replied, 'For Bukhārī.'
After a few days I heard the news of Imām Bukhārī's passing away. He had died at the
very moment that I saw the Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi wa sallam in my dream."

The Janāzah prayer was performed over Imām Bukhārī and his body was covered with
soil. A beautiful musk smell exuded from the earth of his grave which lasted for several
days. People from far and wide began to visit it in astonishment and also took handfuls of
earth from his grave for blessings (tabarruk).

Abul-Fath as-Samarqandī relates: "two hundred years after the death of Imām
Bukhārī, a drought struck Samarqand. The people made the istisqā' prayer and
invocations but rain did not fall. A saintly man came to the judge (Qādī) of the city
and gave him some advice. He said: 'With the people of the city, go to the grave of Imām
Bukhārī and invoke Allāh the Exalted there to give you rain. Perhaps Allāh will accept
our invocations and give us rain.' The judge of the city accepted this advice with delight
and proceeded to go to the grave. The people followed him and upon arrival, he prayed for
rain in front of them at the grave. People wept and also sought the intercession of the
one who was in the grave. At that moment, clouds gathered and Allāh sent such heavy rain
that those who were in Kharteng could not reach Samarqand for seven days because of the
rain's abundance.

Conclusion

Imām Bukhārī was not only a scholar, worshipper, a devotee and a prosperous man, but
he always feared Allāh and shone with the love of the Messenger sallallāhu `alayhi wa
sallam. The virtuous outpourings he gave to the world during his life are still being
given today and as the Muslim Ummah goes about its daily acts of worship, they realise how
important the role played by Imām Bukhārī was. He compiled and circulated the Ahādīth
of the Prophet wherever possible and Allāh spread his status to every corner of the
world. It is a fact that as long as the traditions of the Holy Prophet sallallāhu `alayhi
wa sallam (qīla and qāla) are mentioned in gatherings, lights and
blessings will shower onto the grave of Imām al-Bukhārī from the skies of the Most
Merciful.

1The disagreement was only over the pronunciation (lafz) of
the Qur'an, not the words of the Qur'an, although lafz also means
"wording." Al-Dhuhli and other people close to the Hanbali madhhab considered
that the pronunciation is uncreated just like the Qur'an itself. Others, like Bukhari and
Muslim, also al-Karabisi the companion of al-Shafi`i and others considered the
pronunciation created since it is part of one's acts and acts are certainly created. There
was no disagreement that the words of the Qur'an are not created since they are what is
meant when we say that the Qur'an is Allah's Speech.

What possibly reconciles the different views on this subject is that lafz
is used by some to mean the revealed, uncreated words and contents of recitation, while
others mean thereby the mere act of pronunciation, which is created; hence the extreme
caution shown by some, such as Imam al-Bukhari, who fell short of saying: Lafz
is created even though he used it in the second sense, since he said: Lafz
is an act of human beings, and our acts are created. This lexical ambiguity is a proof
of sorts that the differences on this particular question were largely in terminology
rather than essence. Added to this is a fundamental difference in method around the
appropriateness of such dialectic (kalam), which poisoned the air with
unnecessary condemnations on the part of Imam Ahmads followers  and Allah knows
best.

Dr. G.F. Haddad

Edited by rami

Rasul Allah (sallah llahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord" and whoever knows his Lord has been given His gnosis and nearness.

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